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Monthly Archives: September 2012

BRIDGEWATER — Five months later, the optimistic sense of a new beginning that engulfed TD Bank Ballpark during spring training is long gone and only disappointment lingers in its place.

Unlike last season when the Somerset Patriots quickly stumbled, set numerous dubious records and fell out of playoff contention — or every other year since 1999 when they compiled a non-losing record — the Patriots crossed the finish line Sunday afternoon with the feeling of missing out on an opportunity.

“It slipped out of our hands just a little bit,” catcher Adam Donachie said. “Everyone here wants to win, and we had a group of guys that we felt like could win games. We just kind of faltered.”

The biggest culprit for the Patriots (65-74) is an offense that ranked seventh in the Atlantic League in batting average and last in extra-base hits, home runs and runs scored. It led to a 30-37 record in games decided by two runs or less as the league’s second-best pitching staff received little support.

“Nobody really hit their max potential, including me,” said first baseman Jesse Hoorelbeke, who hit .279 with a team-high 20 home runs and 53 RBI in 100 games. “We never collectively put it together consistently. It’s frustrating for a lot of guys who are playing to win because this might be their last year.”

I submitted my Atlantic League Postseason All-Star ballot last week and — with Lancaster and York proving to be a head above the rest — it was an interesting year for the awards.

Some were no-brainers like Ballpark of the Year and Manager of the Year. Others were much more competitive like Player of the Year — a race between York’s Chris Nowak, Long Island’s Ray Navarrete and the Lancaster trio of Fehlandt Lentini, Blake Gailen and Ryan Harvey.

BRIDGEWATER — With first pitch about 90 minutes away, manager Sparky Lyle felt downright giddy as he looked once more at the Somerset Patriots’ lineup for their Aug. 3 game at the Lancaster Barnstormers.

After weeks of mixed results using small-ball principles to manufacture runs, the Patriots had lengthened their lineup and bolstered their power by adding slugger Corey Smith to a middle-third consisting of former red hot major leaguer Jake Fox and all-time Atlantic League RBI leader Jeff Nettles.

It looked good on paper – but that is as close as it came to a realization as Fox, who was hitting .388 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 21 games, signed a Triple-A contact before the Patriots took the field.

“At the beginning of the year, I definitely liked this team,” Lyle said last week before a family matter kept him from attending Sunday afternoon’s season-ending 9-5 loss to the Bridgeport Bluefish front of 5,974 at TD Bank Ballpark. “I thought we were going to get (to the playoffs). It’s not anybody’s fault. We were just decimated – and it always happened at the most inopportune times.”

Of all the hits that the Patriots suffered – five players signing with different teams, four players leaving for the season due to personal reasons, three season-ending injuries and two retirements – none were bigger than the loss of Fox to the Philadelphia Phillies organization. At the time, the Patriots were 1½ games out of first place, but they lost their next four games and never again got closer than 5½.

BRIDGEWATER — Even if the Somerset Patriots undergo a complete roster makeover for the second consecutive offseason, a facelift only will be included in the package if the team wants it to happen.

Third baseman Jeff Nettles, who was voted as the top player in franchise history, answered the question on everybody’s minds recently by saying he wants to return for a 10th season with the Patriots.

“An off-year in my play doesn’t change my desire or make me any less excited about playing baseball,” said Nettles, whose future plans have been an annual source of late-season speculation since 2009.

“I’ve been talking to some of the other core guys and if they come back I’d like to give it another shot.”

Nettles, 34, leads the Patriots in doubles (20) and RBI (73) and is tops in the Atlantic League in games played (136) but has seen his batting average dip in each of the past three seasons to the point where it hovered around .250 most of this season.

He also has seen his error total (26) climb to its high-water mark since 2004 while spending more time than usual at first base and designated hitter.

BRIDGEWATER — It is no surprise to learn that Adam Champion considers himself to be a student of pitching, especially given his history of placing an emphasis on education.

Champion was selected by San Francisco in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft as a junior at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He turned down a contract offer, returned to school and was drafted one year later in an almost identical spot — 36 picks later — by Houston.

“I wanted to get my degree — that was a big goal for me,” said Champion, who majored in finance. “If the offer was lucrative enough I would’ve taken it, but it wasn’t. It’s a dream of mine to play in the major-leagues, but I wanted to set myself up with something to fall back on. I didn’t want to be the guy at 27 or 28 (years old) who has forgotten everything he learned and have to re-teach myself.”

Champion, 25, is scheduled to make his second start Sunday for the Somerset Patriots, who opened a season-ending three-game series Friday against the Bridgeport Bluefish at TD Bank Ballpark. He spent most of the season in the independent Frontier League, where he competed for the ERA title.

The erratic left-hander, who sprinkled moments of brilliance in with inconsistencies, allowed two runs in each of the first two innings and one in the sixth as the Patriots went meagerly into the night with a 5-1 loss to the Long Island Ducks.

Arguello, who failed to get an out and thre 16 of 22 pitches for balls in his first of the season, surrendered seven hits, including a two-run home run by Lee Cruz, in six innings. He struck out eight and walked five.

In his final day with the team, Keith Ramsey, who is leaving for a personal commitment, tossed two scoreless innings.

Corey Smith had a RBI single in the first inning for the Patriots, who trailed 2-1 at that point.

BRIDGEWATER – TD Bank Ballpark has hosted between 64 and 72 Somerset Patriots’ home games per season since 1999, but the number of must-see events on the field multiplied exponentially whenever Jeff Nettles, Josh Pressley and Billy Hall were in the lineup.

Nettles, Pressley and Hall – who captivated audiences with poise and leadership – are No. 1 through 3, respectively, on the Patriots Top 15 list, which honors the best players in franchise history as voted on prior to the season by players, coaches and team officials. The first 2,000 fans in attendance for tonight’s game against the Bridgeport Bluefish will receive a commemorative baseball card strip of the trio.

“Without a doubt, that’s the right top three,” manager Sparky Lyle said. “If you polled all 15 I think they would all feel they should be in the position where they were picked. It was all right on.”

Nettles, who started at third base Thursday night as the Patriots faced the Long Island Ducks, is the Atlantic League’s all-time leader in games, hits and RBI and is five shy of also putting his name atop the home run list. He is a three-time champion, with two Championship Series Most Valuable Player awards.

BRIDGEWATER — The running joke as Ray Navarrete partnered with Long Island Ducks hitting coach Jay Loviglio and Baltimore Orioles outfielder Lew Ford to open a baseball training academy during the offseason was that spending more time around his two mentors could only make him a better player.

No one is laughing now, however.

“For me, last year was my first black eye in my Atlantic League career,” said Navarrete, whose 27 home runs and 79 RBI were somewhat offset by a .242 batting average. “This offseason was the first time I ever worked on a strategy in November. I kept telling myself, ‘Just trust it. It will work.’”

It has more than worked. It has helped the 34-year-old Marlboro High School graduate, who sat out Wednesday with a hip flexor as the Ducks visited the Somerset Patriots, hold off Father Time.

Tuesday night’s game between the Long Island Ducks and Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark was cancelled due to a severe weather forecast. The game will not be made up as the regular season is scheduled to end Sunday and it does not impact the Atlantic League playoff picture.

Fans with tickets to Tuesday’s game can redeem them for any other game on the season-ending homestand, which begins at 7 p.m. tonight. Somerset left-hander Roy Merritt (8-8, 3.23) will oppose Long Island right-hander Bobby Blevins (0-0, 2.84) in the opener of a truncated two-game series.

The Patriots (28-36, 63-71) were spared from playing their 12th doubleheader, while the Ducks (21-42, 60-72) are shifting focus to next week’s Liberty Division Championship Series.

Two days after it became official that the Somerset Patriots would miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever, the five-time Atlantic League champions secured another dubious feat.

By virtue of Sunday afternoon’s 2-0 loss to the York Revolution at Sovereign Bank Stadium, the Patriots, who were swept in the formerly pivotal four-game series, are assured of finishing with a losing record for just the third time in their 15-year history. On the flip side, the Revolution clinched a playoff berth.

Starting pitcher Justin Cassel came off the inactive list to hold the two-time defending league champion Revolution (39-25, 75-59) to two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five.